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1.30 CHAMPIONS DAY TWO-YEAR-OLD CONDITIONS STAKES betting
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Words of Truth 11/8
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Division 7/2
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Mission Central 5/1
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Siren Suit 10/1
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Sir Albert 12/1
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Ardisia 14/1
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Gentle George 25/1
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Egoli 28/1
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Super Soldier 50/1
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Watcha Snoop 66/1
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Slay Queen 125/1
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Full betting via Oddschecker here
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55% of bets today have backed Words of Truth or Division
Jockey Billy Loughnane signs autographs for racegoers at Ascot. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 08.13 EDT
Greg Wood
1.30 CHAMPIONS DAY TWO-YEAR-OLD CONDITIONS STAKES preview
There is no Group-race status (as yet) for the new juvenile race on the Champions Day card, but a £250k pot has attracted a fair field, in terms of numbers at least. There is not a huge amount of strength in depth, however, and Words Of Truth, the Mill Reef Stakes winner, has 9lb in hand of the field according to Timeform’s assessment. Charlie Appleby’s colt will set off at around 6-4 to complete a four-timer, with Division, a winner at York last weekend and also successful in his last three starts, next in the list at around 7-2. William Haggas’s colt was a cosy winner on the Knavesmire but that was only a Listed contest and he has the best part of a stone to find with Words Of Truth on the bare form. Mission Central is the only runner from the Aidan O’Brien stable after the scratching of Kansas, but needs to bounce back from a below-par run when favourite for the Flying Childers at Doncaster last month, while John & Thady Gosden’s well-bred Siren Suit also has a squeak if his first win in three attempts, at Kempton 10 days ago, sees him take another step forward.
SELECTION: WORDS OF TRUTH
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Well the time for the first race suggest this is going to be quick ground – even more so than. the ‘Good’ description suggests. One or two pundits think the going may be bordering on ‘Good to Firm’.
I make that a race record time for the Long Distance Cup since switching to Ascot in 2011, the majority of previous editions having been on ground softer than good.
Fractionally on the quick side of good would be my best guess after just one race.
— Simon Rowlands (@RowleyfileRRR) October 18, 2025
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Updated at 08.13 EDT
12.55pm CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP result
1 Trawlerman 5/6 fav
2 Sweet William 5/2
3 Al Qareem 7/1
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Updated at 08.01 EDT
12.55pm CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP
And they’re off … Al Qareem and Trawlerman lead the way early – but they have a circuit to go yet! Al Qareem now takes it up as they have 10 furlongs to go … Sweet William is at the back but there’s a long way to go … Stay True being pushed along … Trawlerman moves up to challenge on the home turn … Trawlerman goes clear and wins from Sweet William, who makes ground late.
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Updated at 08.04 EDT
As Greg Wood pointed out in his preview piece for the Champion Stakes today “there is even a little needle to add further spice, after Aidan O’Brien, the trainer of Delacroix, suggested to a media briefing on Thursday that John Gosden, who trains Ombudsman, the favourite, ‘can whinge a little bit after races, whether he wins or he loses’.
Gosden just had his say on ITV Racing … “It seems like I’ve touched a nerve with Aidan,” the Newmarket trainer said. “He’s getting a little bit irked.”
Ooooooh it’s getting more spicy!
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Updated at 07.55 EDT
12.55pm CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP betting
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Trawlerman 1/2
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Sweet William 10/3
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Stay True 8/1
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Al Qareem 12/1
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Saratoga 33/1
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69% of bets placed today through Oddschecker have backed Trawlerman
Fashionable racegoers at paddock-side early at Ascot for Champions Day. Photograph: Maureen McLean/ShutterstockShareGreg Wood
12.55pm CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP preview
Shiny new Group One status for the stayers’ race on Champions Day, but a disappointing five-runner turnout for a £300,000 first prize, the smallest field in the meeting’s 15-year history. John & Thady Gosden will not be complaining, however, as their gelding Trawlerman, the Gold Cup winner at the Royal meeting here in June, has an obvious chance to add another Group One win to his tally, and he is expected to set off at around 7-4. The main rival to Trawlerman in the betting, meanwhile, is his stable companion Sweet William, the runner-up in this race 12 months ago and third home in 2023, who arrives fresh from defending the Doncaster Cup, while the lightly-raced three-year-old Stay True, who was seen as a possible Derby contender earlier in the season and finished third in last month’s St Leger, goes into bat for the title-race leading Aidan O’Brien stable. The six-year-old Al Qareem is the other runner with a realistic chance based on his recent win in the Cumberland Lodge Stakes at this track and he is actually in front of Stay True on Timeform ratings, but needs to find a fair chunk of improvement to trouble Trawlerman.
SELECTION: TRAWLERMAN
Racegoers arriving at Ascot. Photograph: Maureen McLean/ShutterstockShare
With the going in mind here’s the latest official Ascot report:
The going at Ascot for QIPCO British Champions Day is Good on both the straight Course and round courses.
And here’s an update on the horses that won’t be lining up today
Ascot non-runners
1.30pm British Champions Day Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes
5 Kamakameleon (vet’s cert – lame)
6 Kansas (self cert – not eaten up)
2.05pm British Champions Sprint (Group 1)
19 Rosy Affair (vet’s cert – bruised foot)
“What do you think will win the opener?” “I’m more worried about the future for the monarchy” Photograph: Steven Paston/Andrew Matthews/PAShare
Updated at 07.56 EDT
As you may have noticed it’s been exceptionally dry for a few weeks now and that’s why Ascot will be racing on the normal Flat race track and not the inside jumps course which Champions Day has been switched to for this meeting when the ground on the main track gets desperate.
Of course they’ll be racing at Ascot over the sticks soon enough now and I was reminded of the forthcoming highlights this when a copy of Mark Howard’s ‘One Jump Ahead’ annual landed on my mat. Plenty to get stuck into in the 200 pages including the mouthwatering prospect of seeing 100+ Flat-rated horse The Reverend test his mettle over obstacles now he has joined Willie Mullins. Howard himself selects Judy Ball as a handicapper to follow this campaign. Keep your eyes peeled once the entries are out soon for the first big meeting at Cheltenham!
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Oisin Murphy, who will be officially crowned champion jockey today, has just been on the box, talking about his rides today and all things Champions Day. In a revealing interview this week with our own Don McRae he talked about what has been a trying year despite his success riding horses. Thought it was interesting this morning that trainer Ian Balding on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme said of the rider: “He needs very little hand-holding … [pause] … on the track …”
Oisin Murphy at Ascot before the opening race. Photograph: Maureen McLean/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 07.10 EDT
Three of the world’s top-10 racehorses go head-to-head in the £1.4m Champion Stakes at 4.05pm, as Greg Wood highlighted here in his preview feature for today’s great Champions Day card. But the trio will have to go some to match super sprinter Ka Ying Rising, who Timeform rate the best in the world currently, and who won the Everest in Australia this morning at 6.15am UK time. Watch him strut his stuff – and look at this build-up to the race with the crowd in vocal harmony with that ubiquitous anthem ‘Sweet Caroline’.
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Preamble
Greg Wood
Hello from Ascot racecourse in Royal Berkshire, where the sky is grey but the forecast is dry, the going is good on both the straight and round courses and first seven-race Champions Day card will get underway with the Long Distance Cup at 12.55pm (all times BST).
This is the 15th running of Champions Day since the card was created as an end-of-season showcase for the best of British Flat racing, and not only the first with a seven-race programme, thanks to the addition of a £250,000 juvenile contest, but also the first ever afternoon at a British track with five Group One races on the schedule.
That is thanks to an upgrade to the opener from Group Two status, while what has become a familiar run of four Group One races in a row will kick off with the Champions Sprint at 2.05pm and finish with a flourish as a top-notch field goes to post for the Champion Stakes at 4.05pm.
Calandagan, the King George winner here earlier in the season, is edging towards Ombudsman in the betting for the feature event this morning, but John Gosden’s colt seems certain to set off as the favourite at around 7-4 and his jockey, William Buick, has plenty more to look forward to besides as he is also aboard Trawlerman, odds-on for the Long Distance Cup, and Words Of Truth, the warm favourite for the Two-Year-Old race.
Quick Guide
Greg Wood’s Saturday’s tips
Show
Catterick: 10.30 Trapper John; 11.00 Sierra Sands; 11.28 Secret Sonata; 11.56 Made All; 12.23 Wreck It Ryley; 12.50 Ahamoment; 1.20 Venture Capital; 1.55 Beauty Choice
Ascot: 12.55 Trawlerman; 1.30 Words Of Truth; 2.05 Big Mojo; 2.45 Waardah; 3.25 Fallen Angel (nb); 4.05 Ombudsman; 4.40 Oliver Show (nap)
Stratford-on-Avon: 1.15 Electric Eddy; 1.50 Absolutely Doyen; 2.30 Juggernaut; 3.05 Seeyouinmydreams; 3.40 Baikal; 4.25 Yorgunnabeplucky; 5.05 Prince De Juilley
Newton Abbot: 2.15 Le Soleil Reve; 2.54 Of Corse I Can; 3.35 Dance And Glance; 4.15 Diplomatie; 4.55 Blueking D’Oroux; 5.25 Jaitroplaclasse; 5.55 Soldier Reeves
Wolverhampton: 4.29 Almarada Prince; 4.59 Massimo Blue; 5.30 Bystander; 6.00 Stipulation; 6.30 Coolree; 7.00 T Or Coffey; 7.30 Invincible Crown; 8.00 Simply Blue; 8.30 Desert Emperor
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The Buick treble comes out at around 9-1 and the bookies could be looking at a chunky payout if it is still alive after two legs, while Field Of Gold, a hugely impressive winner of the St James’s Palace Stakes here at the Royal meeting before blotting his copybook at Goodwood in July, will also be popular with acca-builders in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Oisin Murphy will be crowned champion jockey during the afternoon, but today’s card could conceivably have an impact on the yet-to-be-finally-decided race for the Flat trainer’s title. Aidan O’Brien has a commanding lead of around £600,000 over Andrew Balding, who is in turn around the same amount ahead of John and Thady Gosden, but the Gosdens will have hopes of a double with Field Of Gold and Ombudsman is the two most valuable races on the card, while Balding has several runners with a chance including Kalpana, the favourite for the Fillies & Mares race at 2.45pm.
This is arguably the first Champions Day that lives up to the billing as envisaged when the card was launched back in 2011 (when only the Champion Stakes and the QEII had Group One status). All seven races this afternoon will be live on ITV Racing, and you can dual-screen to your heart’s content with our liveblog, which will carry all the news, views, betting moves and results until the last runner in the Balmoral Handicap is back in its box.
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